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Weekly Rundown- Grinding Along

Welcome to the Weekly Rundown, hosted as always by the indomitable Kim and Deborah.  The week started strong, but as it went on things felt harder than usual.  I can’t exactly put my finger on what was wrong, and when that happends the only thing to do is put my head down and keep grinding along.  Here’s how it all played out:

Sunday

11 mile long run that felt AMAZING!  I got up super early and was able to complete the first six miles in the dark.  At that point I hardly felt like I had done anything, and all I had was my usual five mile route left.  I finished feeling about 100 times better than I did at the end of last week’s long run.

Monday

Leg day!  I started with Runner’s Touch exercise and then did the sled, squats, side planks with leg lifts…

Another “great” gym photo

… and ended with tibialis and calf raises.

Tuesday

Back to the gym!  I started with the sled…

… and then did a 3 mile treadmill run, with hill intervals.

Wednesday

I had to be home all day to wait for the dishwasher repairman.  Originally they gave us a window of 7 am- 7 pm (seriously?) but luckily the night before were able to narrow it down to 10:30-2:30.  This meant I was able to do my 4 mile run in the daylight.

I also got out my pull up bar and did a few sets of negatives- as always, ouch.

Thursday

The early morning school traffic has gotten a little better, but there’s still a discrepancy between the time I would like to leave for school, and the time my daughter is actually ready.  This gives me more time than I need before we leave, and a little less time than I would like at the gym.  I’ve solved this- for now- by starting my workout at home with things I don’t need the gym for.

Runner’s Touch, lunges, side plank with leg lifts at home.  Then, at the gym, sled, squats, deadlifts, tibialis and calf raises.

Friday

Early morning 4 mile run!

Saturday

Off.  I was able to sleep in a little before work.  At night, watched Baylor lose, SOB!  Our quarterback was injured in the first game of the season (what kind of luck is that?) and has been out ever since.  Things are not going well.

Sunday

On tap for today- 12 mile long run!  I’ll start in the dark again to avoid the heat, but I’ll be honest- I think running in the dark is a little creepy and depressing.  I’m not really looking forward to it, although the second half will be in daylight.  Right now running in the dark seems the lesser of two evils, though.

Workout-wise it was a pretty good week (although what happened to upper body? Oops.) Football-wise it was a little sad.  Baylor lost horribly, and our high school homecoming game got rained out.  But at least we still have the Dolphins!  A good long run and a good football game are just what I need to shake me out of this funk.

How was your week?  Are you loving the start of fall, or dreading what comes after? – September is a hard month in South Florida.  It’s still so, so hot.  It’ll be another month before we can start hoping for a cool down.

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October Ultimate Coffee Date!

Hooray!  It’s the first Friday of the month, which means I’m linking up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate Coffee Date.  It’s obviously time to get out the Halloween mugs.  Pour yourself a spooky beverage and join me! The first thing I would tell you over coffee is, tomorrow is my son’s senior recital. We can’t be there in person but will be able to watch it via livestream.  I’m dealing with a cocktail of emotions here: disbelief that he’s a SENIOR in college, nervous for him (I mean, I’m sure he’s well-prepared and will do well, but a mom has to worry), sad that his time at Baylor is coming to an end, and of course- so, so proud of him.  The baby whose nickname was “Li’l Sumo” is now a MAN. So what else is on tap for the weekend?  My husband and I are planning a little at-home “Oktoberfest.”  I’m not quite sure what that will entail, other than beer of course.  My husband is very enthusiastic about the beer- “Let’s make it really cold!  We can get a bucket and put all the beers in it with some ice!”  WHOA THERE.  I’m not sure how many beers he plans on drinking, but my limit is probably 1.5.  We’ll have to have something to eat as well- I’m looking at this website with vegan Oktoberfest recipes. In other news, I got a letter saying that my request to postpone jury duty has been granted.  PHEW!!!  Interestingly, I’ve talked to three people who told me when they get a jury summons, they just throw it away.  They figure since it’s not registered mail, no one can ever prove they got it.  Huh!  Now I’m feeling virtuous about getting out of jury duty the “right” way.  Or, maybe I’m just a fool. Lastly, thanks to everyone who complimented me on fixing my blog.  Unfortunately I did NOT fix it (yet) and the only way it looks “normal” is if I include lots of photos (to make the post long.) Here’s one of me in my element…     What would you tell me over coffee?  Do you have any plans for the weekend?      

Reading and Eating

I finished the Ken Follett Century Trilogy!!!  Fall of Giants covered WWI, Winter of the World continued with WWII, and The Edge of Eternity starts in the 1960s. One thing I loved about these books is it showed me the continuity between these events.  I used to think of WWII as something that happened in the past, whereas events in the 1960s and 1970s were in more “modern” times.  Now I understand more the connection between WWI, WWII, the Cold War, Vietnam, and the events leading to the fall of communism. Edge of Eternity focuses mostly on the children and grandchildren of the original characters from Fall of Giants.  It was fascinating that a young man who fought in WWI, if he lived to a ripe old age, would also live through the Cold War.  There were characters in the book who endured Nazi Germany, WWII, the Soviet occupation of East Germany, and then saw the Berlin Wall come down.  It was incredibly moving to me that Black people who fought for Civil Rights in the 1960s could live to see Barack Obama elected president. I will say that, while I was reading it, Edge of Eternity was my least favorite of the three books, and I’m still trying to figure out why.  The first two focused heavily on Europe, and in Edge the focus shifted to the United States and Soviet Union.  There was a lot of detail about politics in the US, and while it was interesting, the story bogged down a little for me.  JUST A LITTLE!  I still enjoyed it, but whereas with the first two books, I didn’t want them to end, with Edge, I was kind of looking forward to finishing it. Then… I actually finished it, and the ending was so good that I cried.  There was an epilogue, which I was initially annoyed to see- I mean, the ending was perfect, what’s with this epilogue?  But then the epilogue also made me cry.  You guys- it was so good and I’m so glad I read these books.  I’ll be thinking about them for a long, long time. It was hard to move on to anything else, but I had to forge ahead.  I have some library books to get through, so I started this one: So far, so good!  I’m not very far into it, but I’m enjoying it. Eating-wise, I continued the pumpkin theme with some pumpkin oatmeal.  No special recipe- I just add a couple dollops of pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice to my regular oatmeal. For dinner on Sunday, I went to Nora Cooks and browsed through her “Fall Recipe” section.  I ended up making Butternut Squash Curry With Chickpeas. It was good!  The only problem was, I should have doubled the recipe.  I like my Sunday dinner to also feed us on Monday, and I should have known one can of chickpeas wasn’t going to do that.  My daughter wasn’t a fan of the squash, but she’s obviously insane.  You cube the squash and roast it, and add it to the curry at the end- it was delicious. I’ll echo Engie’s recent question- what was the last book that made you cry?   What are you reading now?

A New Month

It’s October!  Time to get out the Halloween decorations- how exciting. Like many others, I’m looking forward to the Girl Next Door Fall Extravaganza episode for 2024.  While I’m waiting, I’ve been amusing myself by listening to their old ones.  One thing I love about these episodes is, Kelsey and Erica live in Arizona. Arizona weather is not Florida weather, but there are similarities.  Mainly that neither place has a true “fall.”  While the rest of the country is (hopefully) experiencing beautiful, crisp fall days, we’re still sweltering in the heat. In this episode from 2016, Kelsey and Erica talked about how they adjusted to fall in the desert.  They went through stages of denial, acceptance, and said they are now living in an alternate reality where it IS fall, dammit, because I say so!  That’s the way I feel- I put up my decorations and light a candle, so therefore it’s fall. Switching out my decorations (fall to Halloween, to Thanksgiving, to Christmas) also helps make one month distinct from another.  In Florida, we pretty much have two seasons: Summer, and SuperSummer.  There’s definitely a difference between January and July, but still- most days in January you can still walk around in shorts and a tank top. There are many times that I temporarily have no idea what month it is.  I know we all have those moments, but I doubt most people up north get confused between summer and winter.  In the absence of external cues, it’s important to me to make one season distinct from the next.  Otherwise time slips by much, much too fast. In this week’s Best Laid Plans podcast, SHU discussed how she marks the start of a new month,  One of the things she does is switch her screen backgrounds.  I like that!  I’m going to switch the photo on my phone, and I’m thinking of using this “terrifying” one of Charlotte… Hee hee… actually, she was yawning.  But she looks ferocious.  Here she is looking like her beautiful self: Magical black cats really do guard my home this month! Do you decorate for Halloween? Do you feel like you need to do something to make your months distinct, or does it naturally happen where you live?  

Weekly Rundown

It was a great week!  That is, if you like heat, humidity, and hurricanes.  (If you don’t like those things, don’t come to Florida in September!)  Here in South Florida we’re sending love to those in the panhandle who got pummeled- while being grateful that we were spared this time.  As always, I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah (thanks, ladies!) for this Weekly Rundown.  Let’s just see how it all went down… Sunday 6 miles on the trail!  The first mile was walking, then 5 miles running.  It was hot, sticky, parts of the trail were overgrown and there were biting flies.  But I loved it. Monday Leg day at the gym!  Here’s how I found the squat racks: BOTH racks had heavy weights left on the bars.  Why do people do this???  I didn’t feel like dealing with it, so I went over to use an older squat rack in the corner.  Once again I avoided deadlifts because of my cranky low back, but did squats, some single leg balance exercises, and abs. Tuesday I continued my cautious every-other-day running schedule.  Today I walked half a mile and ran 2.5. I followed this with a MadFit standing core workout. Wednesday It was a strength day at home- upper body, Caroline Girvan deadbugs, and hip stability exercises. At 5 pm we got a call that school was canceled the next day because of the hurricane.  Wait, what?  This was the first I heard of Hurricane Helene (I really should start watching the news more.) In my defense, it wasn’t on track to hit us, but we still had a tropical storm warning. Thursday The good news was, since there was no school, I was able to sleep in a little and run in the daylight.  The bad news was, we had pockets of horrendous weather, and one of them happened during my run.  Wind, driving rain, and thunder and lightning in the distance.  I did 3 miles and then hightailed it back home- and as soon as I got there it started to clear up. I followed this with the MadFit standing core workout- except I didn’t realize it was a different one.  Apparently MadFit has at least two standing core workouts.  I like them both! Friday I was very proud of myself for getting to the gym twice this week for leg day.  This time I did squats and deadlifts.  My low back is still achy, but I just decided to carry on. Saturday 5 miles!  Well, the first half mile was walking, and then I ran 4.5.  I’m getting there… slowly but surely. Sunday On tap for the day- sleeping in and waffles!  I’ve decided to shift my “long” runs to Wednesdays (a day off from work.) Obviously there will be football as well, although the Dolphins play Monday night.  I’ll find a game or two to watch. How was your week?  Any “interesting” weather?  

36 Responses

  1. Looks like a great week of workouts for you! I don’t mind running in the dark if it’s hot out–but yes, it is a little creepy, lol. I love this time of year, obviously! I don’t dread what comes after, but winter isn’t my favorite season.

    Reply

    1. Yes, you’ll be having some really nice running weather for the next couple months. And I know you get outside if at all possible year-round. You aren’t afraid of a little snow!

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  2. Nice work on your workouts! I am glad your run felt so good last Sunday. I do not like running in the dark either. I am not an early enough morning person to be out in the dark and it just kind of throws me off to not be able to see far ahead of me. Years ago when I was marathon training I would do mid week runs in the dark and one day I got totally freaked out when a deer ran in front of me! I was living in the suburbs at that point. I would not run into a deer in my neighborhood now!

    Since I was traveling I got more workouts in as usual as my travel days don’t start so early, esp on the east coast when work days tend to start later than the Midwest! So I did a CG workout on Monday, another lower body workout on Wednesday, a 30 min dreadmill run (spelling intentional. I hate the dreadmill) on Thursday and then I ran 4 mi yesterday and will run 4 again today. So a solid week for me! This week will be different because I have to be in the office Mon-Thur this week since my new hire is here for more training.

    And our weather has been great lately. Don’t hate us too much as in a couple of months it was be cold, dark, and snowy.

    Reply

    1. Oh, don’t worry- I might be hating you now, but in January I’ll be remembering why I live in Florida.
      I run with a light, but I still feel like I can’t see as well as I would like in the dark. A deer would scare me too- but there’s no chance of that in my neighborhood.
      I’m glad you were able to get in extra workouts last week- that must have felt good.

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  3. I’m with you on the depressing feeling of a dark run! They always feel amazing when done, but getting out there, and being out there, is a bit odd for me. I’ll keep mine up for a bit then I’ll be back on my treadmill in the early mornings!

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  4. Great job on that 11 miler! It’s kind of fun to start so early, it’s like you’re barely awake and don’t remember the first half 🙂

    Way to stick with the strength training Jenny!

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  5. It looks like you had a solid week. I saw the Baylor score and virtually sent my sympathies your way.

    Another option when things feel harder is to consider if you need a break. 🙂

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  6. I’ll run in the dark if I have to but it’s not my favorite. I am fully enjoying fall and not even thinking about what follows. Ugh. Great week of workouts for you! Georgia Tech actually beat Wake Forest last night and I’m still smiling! Haha!

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    1. Luckily the Dolphins won today, so I can smile again.
      Good for you for enjoying fall- I could never enjoy it up there because I was always dreading winter so much.

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  8. It’s the weeks like these that will get you to the 50 mile finish line. All that matters is the “11 mile long run that felt AMAZING”.

    Blerg to running in the dark. The only good part of it is when the light starts to break.

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  9. Well we don’t have to deal with the heat, but it’s so cool in the mornings now (sorry) but then by the afternoon it’s warm-ish (it’s all relative!). Makes dressing interesting.

    Odd, yup, it was kind of a tough week for me too. Also no idea why but I seemed to have bounced back (next up, 24 hours, probably less, fasting tomorrow for Yom Kippur).

    You’re doing great getting all your fitness in! Isn’t it frustrating having to wait on others to get things started? Mine is not a teenager though. 😉

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  10. Well, I am in full agreement on the football situation…Iowa was majorly skunked by Penn State and Michigan State had an almost as bad loss against Maryland. But the ISU Cyclones pulled off a victory over OK State, so that was a good thing. ((sigh)) I know exactly what you mean about starting a long run in the dark! Once daylight appears, it feels like then the “real” run begins 😉

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  12. Awesome week! I don’t mind the dark as long as I’m in familiar territory. It’s sort of peaceful 🙂 the more I do it, the more normal it feels. Love how you figured out how to time hack your morning workout! Very smart to split it like that!

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    1. Yes, I know people say running in the dark is peaceful- I tried to think about that on my run today! I agree that it gets better the more you do it.

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  13. 6 miles in the dark -uff. I couldn’t do it (and I just don’t feel safe). I understand that you’re trying to beat the heat though.

    I love that you are doing some exercises at home on the day when you take your daughter to school to maximize your workout time – it’s hard when other things take precedence over your time and break up your day in chunks.

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    1. The dark part of my run actually wasn’t too bad! Overall it was easier than running in the heat of the day. And yes, it’s a little frustrating to have things interfere with my workout time, things I don’t have control over (like my daughter!) We all just have to do the best we can with the circumstances we have.

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  14. I always forget how hard September is for me. The onset of SAD is SO FAST. I’m all chipper summery go go go and then there’s a morning when I can no longer imagine dealing with what is on the calendar on that day and it just stays that way for months and months. I’m hearing people rave about the weather and all I can think of is how much I want to hide under my blankets for the next six months. Oh, well. One must persevere. I’m alive, I’m healthy, and I just need to bring more yoga and meditation into my life.

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    1. Yes, and you need your SAD lamp! That’s exactly how I was when I lived up north but we didn’t have those lamps back then. Everyone would be talking about how beautiful the leaves were, and I couldn’t even fathom how I was going to get through the next six months. Ugh.

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  15. Your Sunday run does sound amazing! Isn’t it great when a run goes like that? You know I love pre-dawn running, but I do stay in my little neighborhood where I feel much safer.

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    1. Yes, I think I remember you said you find running in the dark “peaceful.” I guess it is… I tried to look at it like that.

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  16. Amazing.

    I drive to school one morning a week, and A is READY when i run into the driveway. He is always about being early.

    Love all those double digit runs! I bet they feel great.

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    1. My daughter used to be almost OCD about being early for things, but somehow now she’s shifted away from that. She doesn’t want to be LATE, but she doesn’t feel the need to be super early… darn.

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  17. I love fall. It’s my favourite season, though it never seems to last long enough (because late September/early October) can really feel like summer, and November is often WINTER (le sigh). But I still love fall for as long as it lasts. Fresh, crisp air. The beautiful colours. The promise of routines. And I actually love the darker evenings. It makes me feel more cozy and settled.

    As always it’s so much fun to read along to your workout plans! What a great week.

    And oof on the long window for the dishwasher repair. The worst is when you wait for them and then they call and have to switch to another day! Glad that didn’t happen, hope the dishwasher is working…and I’m still giddy about your new kitchen. It looks so fabulous, Jenny.

    Reply

    1. Grr! The dishwasher is NOT working because they had to order a part! And now they have to come back another day! Well… it will all be done eventually.
      I also like the darker evenings- I agree, it feels more cozy. Now all I need is some crisp, cool weather and I’ll be all set!

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  18. There are some weeks where the only way through is through. They’re so frustrating – but hey, you DID move forward. Sorry for your bad luck in football…at least the Dolphins are keeping it up! 🙂

    Reply

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